by Dan Goldin (@post_trash_)
My introduction to Handle came with mixed emotions. On one hand, their first single “Punctured Time” was instantly great, and we considered one of the best songs of that week. On the other hand, this is how I found out that DUDS called it quits. As one of our favorite young post-punk bands, it’s a shame to see them go, but two of the members (Giulio Erasmus and Nirvana Heire) have joined together with Leo Hermitt to create something new and mind-bending. The Manchester based trio are set to release their debut album, In Threes, on March 6th via Upset The Rhythm (Primo!, ES, Kaputt) and Maternal Voice (Conditioner Disco Group, DUDS), a record that is wildly discordant, each song built on sharp angles, bleeding noise, samba grooves, and experimental no wave. There’s a lot of freedom at hand and we’re all the better for soaking it in.
The record’s second single, “Rubber Necks,” is a perfect capsule of what Handle offer - cataclysmic rhythms constantly on the verge of collapse, twitchy punk aggression, and mesmerizing bass grooves that somehow manage to hold everything together. There’s an ever present tension, poking and prodding as complex structures work within repetition to create something majestic and jittery, a constant barrage of their tangled web that maintains its knots without expanding its locked in vision. Handle are pushing at the boundaries of accessibility with “Rubber Necks,” creating deranged punk that is essentially pop at heart, and yet world’s away from anything we’d classify as such. It’s pretty brilliant.